Xavier had given The Master a set of leather clothes that resembled his old outfit and showed him to his quarters. The Master was only in their long enough to dress, then reemerged, looking as frightening as he used to.

"How are the clothes, master?" Xavier asked.

The Master looked himself over. "They will do, Xavier." He felt a head rush and reached out to Xavier to support himself. "I feel weak. Why?"

Xavier made sure his master was able to stand on his own before explaining. "We tried to bring you back once before but the Slayer interrupted and smashed your bones. I collected as much as I could, but I'm afraid there was no way to get all of...you."

The Master stared at his lackey. "You mean I am incomplete?"

"Yes, master," Xavier looked at the ground. "But fear not. We are in New Roanoke and sitting on top of a hellmouth. With time, we should be able to restore you completely."

The Master looked out into the cave where the assembled vampires waited. "Sunnydale?"

"Gone, master."

"The Slayer?"

"Cleveland."

The Master clasped his hands together. "Good. After I am restored then we shall pay her a visit."

"One thing, master?"

The Master turned to Xavier. "What is it, my faithful servant?"

"The Slayer. There's more then one now."

The Master thought about this a moment. "Yes, that would make sense. I did kill her, so another would be called."

"No. I mean, there's a lot more now."

"How many?" The Master asked.

Xavier answered, "I can't say for sure. A spell was cast in Sunnydale that activated all the potentials. They could be as numerous as us."

A look of concern crossed The Master's ugly face. "This could be very bad."

Xavier looked at The Master, hope on his face. "But I brought you here to New Roanoke because there isn't any Slayers here. Just a couple of troublemakers, but so far they haven't caught on to our activities yet."

The Master put a hand on Xavier's shoulder. "You have done well, Xavier. Now let me meet our brothers and sisters."

"The Master?" Network asked. "Is he sure?"

Damien was leaning against a wall in the White Room. "Well, he seemed plenty scared so I am going to say yeah, he was sure."

Paul asked, "The Master is listed as dead. He was defeated by the Slayer in Sunnydale, California a decade ago."

"I don't know what to tell you , Paul," Damien said. "Packard said this guy, Xavier, was bringing him back tonight. It could already be done for all we know."

"How dangerous could he be?" Montoya asked. "I mean, he was killed ten years ago."

Paul cocked his head to one side. "The Master is the oldest known vampire. He was trapped in the hellmouth of Sunnydale, California during an earthquake in 1937. Not much else is known except he was finally defeated by the Slayer."

"How do you know all that?" Network asked.

"It is on the internet," Paul answered.

"Okay," Damien massaged one of his temples for a moment. "Let's just play the notion that this Master guy is back. What's the potential for disaster?"

Paul's eyes flickered for a moment. The group knew that this meant he was accessing information from his files. "He attempted to open the hellmouth in Sunnydale, California. There is probability that he will attempt to do that here."

"That's bad," Network muttered.

"How bad?" asked Montoya.

Damien sighed. "He's going to try to end the world."

Monica grabbed Trent by the arm, turning him around as he walked towards his room. "What the hell, Monica?" he said, pulling his arm back.

"What were you just talking about with my father?" Monica asked.

Trent answered, "Nothing that concerns you."

"Damn it, Trent! I'm a part of the Family now."

"And if Uncle Roland wanted you to know then he would tell you, now wouldn't he?"

Trent shook his head and walked away. Monica watched him as he walked into this room and slammed the door shut.

"Asshole!" Monica yelled. She needed to remember to remain calm, but her family had a tendency to frustrate her. They were always so cryptic about things, especially when it came to Family business.

"Monica?" said a familiar voice from behind her. Monica turned around and saw her father standing by the entrance to her room.

"Hello, father," she said.

Roland motioned to her room. "I need to speak to you."

Without a word, Monica walked into her room and sat on the couch in the living room area. Roland shut the door behind him and sat in a chair across from her.

"You overheard what Trent and I were talking about?" he asked already knowing the answer.

Monica nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't understand it."

Roland smiled softly at his daughter. "You still have contact with Damien Thatcher?"

"Not since that night."

"Do you have a number you can reach him?"

Monica stared at her father. "Why?"

"Because the Family needs his help with something."

Monica never could read her father, but she was pretty sure something was up if he was willing to go outside the Family to solve a problem. "I can reach him if I need to," she said. "What's this about?"

Roland looked around the hotel room. The Stycker's had owned it for years and it had sense became a family home as well as a business. He worked hard to maintain the Family, Monica knew, and it probably wasn't easy for him to admit when he needed help outside of it.

"Contact him," Roland told his daughter. "Tell him to meet me here tonight."

The Master looked over the small army of vampires at his disposal. They weren't the sort that he was used to. They seemed...skittish. The Master turned to Xavier. "These were the best you could find?"

Xavier looked to the floor. "I'm sorry, master. Vampires have since became a joke. No one takes us seriously anymore. The demons laugh at us. Gods use us for cannon fodder. Slayers and Hunters kill us without a thought. Even our food rarely scream or try to run. Most vampires just try to survive, taking jobs where they can. These servants, however, are loyal to you and seek to regain the terror that our breed once held."

"So much has changed while I was gone," The Master sighed. He turned back to his flock. "Loyal servants," his voice boomed. "I have returned to you. I understand that our breed is no longer feared. That we are looked down upon by all, from human to demon to god. I promise you that will change."

The group of vampires stared in awe at The Master. He hated how weak he felt, that he couldn't go himself and teach everyone and everything in this new town why vampires were feared. He needed time to regain his strength. Then, the world would bleed.

"Go out tonight. Recruit others to our side. With strength we will force this town to kneel before us." The Master turned to Xavier. "I hunger."

"I will bring you someone, master."

The Master wrapped his fingers together in front of him. "Good. Soon, I will have my strength back, Xavier. Then, the world will learn why we were feared."

"Do you think its safe?" Network asked his long time friend. "We still don't know anything about this family."

Damien put his long, black coat on. Once it belonged to his brother but...no more. He started wearing it the night Damon died, not entirely sure why, maybe so a part of his twin was still there with him while he fought the creatures of the night. Or maybe he just thought he looked cool in it. Either way, the coat was as much a part of him as his magic.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it isn't safe, Net. But curiosity about why he wants to meet me is setting in."

Network looked glum. "Curiosity killed the cat."

Damien smiled at Network. "But the cat has nine lives. Listen, Network. If they wanted me dead they had the chance to last time I was there. I just don't think we pose a threat to them right now. Maybe this has something to do with The Master."

"I hope you're right, Damien. Just be careful."

"Always."

Montoya was alone in her room just as she was many nights. She'd been helping Network search for information on the owners of the Grand Hotel, but all they could find was a family name: Stycker. Other than owning several properties of real estate throughout New Roanoke, there wasn't anything else about them. It seemed that they were on the up-and-up.

Montoya let out a long sigh and stretched her limbs. It was time for a nice, relaxing, very hot bath. She went to the bathroom and started the water, making sure it was exactly the right temp, then walked into her bedroom and undressed. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stood in front of it, studying the shape of her body. She had a very attractive build, she knew that, but she just didn't find herself attractive. Maybe it was low self esteem, who knows, but she wondered what Network saw in her.

Are you kidding me? Look at you. You could pose for Playboy if you wanted. Or maybe Penthouse.

Leave me alone. Please. Just this once.

Why did she feel sad all of a sudden? She had friends. Perhaps a potential more-than-friends thing. She was working with a team to keep the world safe from monsters and the like. For the first time in a long time she felt like she fit in somewhere.

But you don't want to be here.

No, I don't.

You're scared something is going to happen.

I am.

Montoya suddenly remembered her bath water and ran into the bathroom. The tub was a little more full than she would have liked, but it didn't matter. She shut the water off and climbed in. She let out a slight moan when the hot water hit her body. The heat of it against her cool skin was very relaxing.

This is nice, she thought. This is what makes life worth while. She laughed. It was times like this that she thought everything would be alright.

Damien entered the lobby of the New Roanoke Grand Hotel. He was amazed at how quickly and efficiently they repaired all the damage the Ogrellan demon did not that long ago.

"Mr. Thatcher," an older man in a very expensive suit approached. He stuck out his hand and Damien took it, shaking it like they were old friends. "We never officially met. My name is Roland Stycker.'

"Damien Thatcher."

Roland motioned towards the office. "Let's talk, shall we?"

The two men walked into the office. Roland sat behind the oak desk and motioned for Damien to have a seat across from him. "Can I offer you anything?"

Damien shook his head. "I'm good. What do you want, Mr. Stycker?"

Roland smiled. "I like a man who gets straight to the point, Mr. Thatcher. I'm sure a man of your talents have heard the latest rumblings in the underground."

"About The Master?"

Roland smiled. "Yes. I'm sure you also know that by the time we heard anything it was too late. By this time he has already been resurrected."

"I'm aware."

"This bothers me, Mr. Thatcher. We should have known about this sooner with the connections my family has. And I'm sure you are rather connected yourself."

Damien's face remained expressionless. "We get by."

"The fact that a movement of vampire cultists could operate here for so long unchecked bothers me even more," Roland told Damien. "We should have heard something."

"Mr. Stycker," Damien said firmly. "Is the only reason you wanted to meet with me to assess what I know about the situation?"

Roland smiled again. "You're a very intelligent man, Mr. Thatcher. But no, I also want to offer you a hand in friendship."

"I'm not sure if I'm interested yet."

"Of course. I'm sure you have colleagues trying to figure out who I am as we speak. What I am offering is an exchange. I can tell you where The Master is."

"In exchange for?"

"A favor to be named at a later date." Roland's face turned serious.

Damien stared at Roland for a long moment. "Can you excuse me one moment? I need to make a call."

Damien walked into the lobby and called Network on his cell phone. He explained the deal to his friend and asked for his input.

"This could be dangerous, Damien," Network told him. "I don't like it."

Damien said, "We could always go back on it."

"We could, but you never know what it would be. I mean, for all we know they could plan mass genocide and then ask us not to interfere."

Damien thought for a moment. "But it's in exchange for information on something we know is a threat. I hate this, but we don't have much of a choice."

"I agree. Unless Packard can come up with something?"

Damien frowned. "No time. I think we can handle the Stycker Family if need be. Besides, we still don't know anything about them."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Damien ended the call and returned to the office. Roland smiled at him. "Did we come to a conclusion?"

"I'll accept the deal on the condition that your return favor doesn't involve harming anyone or ending the world or anything."

Roland laughed. "I'm rather fond of our world, Mr. Thatcher. I promise the return favor won't be anything you and yours would be abhorrent to." "Then it's a deal, Mr. Stycker." Damien shook Roland's hand.

Roland smiled. "Very good, Mr. Thatcher."